This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Mr. Greek establishes Middle Eastern toehold

When the company expanded from the Danforth to Scarborough in 1992, it was the first multi-location Greek restaurant in the GTA.

And when the company’s first international franchise was launched in Kuwait last month, it was the country’s first Greek eatery.

On the strength of that successful opening, the company says inquiries are pouring in from nearby Qatar, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, as well as companies affiliated with India and Russia.

“The possibilities are endless now,” said George Raios, president and CEO of the privately-held firm which he says brings in more than $30 million in annual sales.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

“Of course, we need to be extremely careful. My first priority is to our partner and friend in Kuwait. If it goes to different regions, so be it. If not, we’re not waking up in the morning saying ‘Now we have to go to here. We have to go there.’ Life is good in Toronto.”

Over 26 years the company, which also offers delivery and catering, has grown to 20 locations: nine full-dining Mr. Greek Mediterranean Bar & Grills; and 11 Mr. Greek Expresses with counter service and abbreviated menus. The Greektown, Kennedy/401 and Dufferin/Finch outlets are corporately owned, the rest are franchises. Another 10 Expresses are scheduled to open across the province in the next two years.

“We weren’t really pushing (global) expansion; we just let it be known out there that we might be interested to expand,” said Raios.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

At the same time, Lebanese-born, U.S.-educated, Kuwaiti-based entrepreneur Ahmad Bajour was looking for an adjunct to his family’s real estate and construction business.

“The idea of Greek food came up as I was doing research on the web and I remembered when I was residing in Milwaukee we used to go on the weekend to Greek restaurants where they sell the gyros and that was a very nice memory,” he recalled in a phone interview from Kuwait.

“I had a number of Greek restaurants to choose from in Australia and America. I chose Mr. Greek because I thought it had a continental concept of both express and dine-in and I liked the menu. And after I got introduced to George Raios and the family and the business I was more comfortable that I had made this decision.”

Mr. Greek has been a family affair since 1988 when Raios purchased the then 11-year-old Danforth Ave. operation with his brother Tom and friend Paul Kaiskos for $1 million.

“We were nuts,” recalled Raios, 61. “We mortgaged ourselves, our wives, our kids that were born, and the unborn ones.” The partners departed in 2002 and the eight-person corporate staff includes his wife and three children.

Maintaining brand consistency is the greatest challenge of branching out overseas, said Raios who facilitated hands-on training for Bajour. The CEO and managing partner of Thimar International Food Company was here for three weeks learning the formula, from chopping vegetables, to serving customers, at Mr. Greek outlets.

Bajour’s inaugural Mr. Greek kiosk, located in the food court of the upscale Marina World mall in Kuwait City, aims to replicate the Canadian experience — minus pork — in a Middle Eastern country with no existing Greek restaurants.

“We brought a new cuisine, but when they try the food it’s not something strange to them; it’s actually very similar to our Mediterranean Arab cuisine,” he said. “And my clients are not necessarily Kuwaiti; many are from Europe, Canada and the (local) Greek community.

“We’re competing with fast food concepts like KFC, McDonalds, which people are used to. Being in a food court where people sell at low prices we are selling above their prices, but still we’re attracting the crowd because our food is unique. ”

Bajour is set to open a full dining Mr. Greek location this spring at an Intercontinental Hotel that is being built near the mall and he’s hoping to establish two more Expresses in Kuwait by next year.

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com